Unrelated questions
I have a couple of unrelated questions, which I thought I'd bundle into one thread.
1) I've noticed that pilots use the word 'departure' rather than 'take-off' in their pre-flight announcement ('We'll depart using the easterly runway'). I know about the changes in terminology following KLM at Tenerife accident and that the word 'take-off' must only be used by pilots and ATC to indicate an imminent manoeuvre for the benefit of other aircraft. My question is: is it just good practice to use the word 'departure' when speaking to passengers where such confusion should not arise, or is it actually a procedure (in case you were to accidentally transit a PA to ATC)?
2) On a Boeing 738, in identical weather conditions, same fuel and cargo load, how much difference is there in the V1/Vr speeds between an aircraft with, say, 20 passengers and one with, say, 180?
Have tried to make this question as specific as possible to avoid 'how long is a piece of string answers', but I am really interested to know what difference the passenger load actually makes. It is obviously significant since I have been on non-busy flights where they have blocked off rows for 'weight and balance reasons' (captain's words).
3) When you are in the stages of flight where things are happening very quickly (I am thinking in particular of a non-precision / 'tricky' approach) and there is little time to correct mistakes, does the Pilot Flying talk through aloud what s/he is doing so that the Pilot Monitoring understands and, if unhappy with something, can correct/challenge? For example, might you say 'I'm now reducing to 180 knots. I'm going to delay the turn slightly because I think I'll come in early otherwise'. That sort of thing. I realise that check-lists necessitate verbal communication between both pilots; I'm talking about the actual flying!
Thanks for your help.
Nick
Last edited by Nicholas49; 3rd Apr 2012 at 09:34.